Striped Bark Scorpion

The striped bark scorpion, Centruroides vittatus, is a pale yellow scorpion distinguished by two dark stripes running down its back, found across a broad swath of the south-central United States and northern Mexico, from Texas and the border states north through Oklahoma and Kansas to Nebraska. It rarely exceeds 70 millimeters in length and shelters by day under rocks, bark, vegetation and in old buildings, sheds and barns, emerging at night to hunt. Its sting produces localized pain and swelling from neurotoxins that can cause numbness and muscle spasms, with severe allergic reactions possible in rare cases.